A blog by a man with significant sight loss and his encounters with the aid of his white stick (a long cane with a ball on the end). There is no guide dog, but the white stick can be 'anthropomorphisised'. Sometimes the white stick speaks.
If you're accessing this through a screen reader, you will need help in leaving a comment. I am now posting comments sent via Twitter in the comment section.

A few months ago I was walking past what used to be The Museum of Mankind and wandered in Haunch of Venison, the art gallery (http://haunchofvenison.com) had taken over this space and I made a mental note of the location (BurlingtonGardens), not far from Piccadilly Circus or GreenPark underground stations.

A week or so afterwards, I heard a programme on BBC Radio 3 describing the Frank Stella exhibition at Haunch of Venison and it sounded fascinating.The discussion was about 2-D and 3_D effects and the sensation of being drawn into a painting or piece of sculpture.I made a mental note to try this out as I had found the visual overload term of other artists to be useful in making some work of art visible to me with my peripheral vision.

I passed by the gallery when it was closed and a poster caught my eye. (As it turned out, it was for another exhibition!) It looked like a giant red torus or doughnut.So, I made another mental note that I ought to go when the gallery was open.This I did yesterday and was thrilled when Charmaine at the desk took me to the installation and when I met my red doughnut, it wasn’t part of the Frank Stella exhibition at all!It was an exhibition of the works of Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.

My peripheral vision picks up lines and stripes, especially if they are repeated and even fractured.I had described one of the pieces as resembling an earthquake or subduction tectonic plate fault line as portrayed on a geological map.

There are many examples of tricks of the eye, or trompe l’oeil, in this exhibition and one is never sure from a distance if the piece is 2-D or 3-D as a painting or as a piece of sculpture.I mentioned to Charmaine that I had been to the Anton Henning exhibition in Edinburgh, and it turned out that Haunch of Venison used to show his work!

Charmaine was really encouraging in explaining the objects and we shared our own impressions of what the eye could make out.The gallery doesn’t do postcards, though catalogues are available.Charmaine had said she would send me some email images of the pieces I enjoyed.What I hadn’t expected was that Charmaine had made a mental note of some of my descriptions and sent a guide of the works I had enjoyed in an email.

If you are in London and you have some spare time, visit this gallery before it closes; and if you have any specific requirement, contact them.www.haunchofvenison.comThis was a piece of serendipity on my part and it illustrates the engagement of many in the arts world if you show an interest in some pieces of abstract art, which would otherwise be inaccessible or may not be on your own radar.

The pdfs that Charmaine sent me opened straightaway and were read from front to back and all the images loaded without a problem.They are stunning and while I usually avoid some images on the blog, if you have some residual vision and you like these images you can find out more from the gallery - Charmaine is certainly one of those inspiring and enlightened gallery contacts and a big thanks again!

The third is: Frank Stella, Tetuan 1, 1964, fluorescent Alkyd on canvas, 195.6 x 196.2 cm, signed and dated '64 (on the reverse) (this is the Stella in particular that you liked, with the changing lines)

About Me

I am blind and live in London. I get about with my white stick and with the help of TfL and the general public. I have access to much that the city offers. I have very understanding friends whose patience I test regularly. I don't have a guide dog because the local authority thought it would be unfair on the dog! I get really hacked off with 'intelligent' people who treat me like a foreigner and speak loudly and clearly as if I was deaf. I hate being touched as this can be misunderstood if you're blind.
If you’re sighted and visiting this blog, feel free to comment. If you’re blind and reading this through a screen reader, I am using JAWS 12 with some unreliable Windows products. If you can share any techi advice, please do so.
I am on Twitter (@profwhitestick) and with some help from a local charity I am road testing some assistive software via Freedom Scientific.
Otherwise I’m a normal blind person and find joy in the kindness of strangers and some sadness at the inability of acquaintances to refrain from aspects of non-verbal communication. A nod is as good as a wink to a blind man.
Languages: Deutsch, Francais, beagan Gaidhlig and some Khaleeji Arabic!